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  • January 2022
  • Article
  • Industrial & Labor Relations Review

Determinants of Gender Differences in Change in Pay among Job-Switching Executives

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Eric Lin
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Abstract

The authors investigate what determines differences in change in pay between men and women executives who move to new employers. Using proprietary data of 2,034 executive placements from a global search firm, the authors observe narrower pay differences between men and women after job moves. The unconditional gap shrinks from 21.5% in the prior employer to 15% in the new employer. After controlling for typical explanatory factors, the residual gap falls by almost 30%, from 8.5% at the prior employer to 6.1% in the new placement. This change reflects a relative increase in performance-based compensation for women and a lower level of unexplained pay inequality generally in external placements. Controlling for individual fixed effects, observed women have higher pay raises than do men. Finally, the authors find suggestive evidence that pay differences may also be moderated by differences in the supply and demand for women executives.

Keywords

Executive Pay; Executive Labor Market; Gender Pay Gap; External Recruitment; Executive Compensation; Gender; Human Capital

Citation

Groysberg, Boris, Paul M. Healy, and Eric Lin. "Determinants of Gender Differences in Change in Pay among Job-Switching Executives." Industrial & Labor Relations Review 75, no. 1 (January 2022): 168–199.
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About The Authors

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
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Paul M. Healy

→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Skills-First Talent Management: The Importance of Managers By: Boris Groysberg, Nicole Zelazko, Tom Quinn, Robin Abrahams, Izzy Yeoh and Colleen Ammerman
  • Shore Capital Partners: 2025 By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman
  • Radical Transformation at Bayer: Dynamic Shared Ownership By: Boris Groysberg and Gamze Yucaoglu
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